On this day, in the 1981 elections, Andreas Papandreou won and became prime minister
but
37 years earlier,
another Papandreou, his father,
becomes the first prime minister of a free Greece
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Let's go see this momentous day
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Starting in September 1944, the EAM had been pressured by the KKE, which had been pressured by the Soviet Union, which had been pressured by England,
to join the government of national unity
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Why?;
to legitimize it…
because without the EAM, nothing would hold together. Even if everyone else combined were 15% or even 18% of the general population
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The question was what role they played in the government of national unity
something
collaborators and sycophants of the Germans, and some traitors
But no one ever asked him that
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So the government was led by Georgios Papandreou, who was supported by the British.
That's why he was prime minister.
Prime Minister of Greece without the support of England,
It's like saying, "a glass of water without a glass."
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So, the EAM members who joined the government
It was:
Alexander Svolos, who served as prime minister of the “mountain government” and later became minister of finance.
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Angelos Angelopoulos was sworn in as Deputy Minister of Finance
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Yannis Zevgos (real name Yannis Talaganis), who became Minister of Agriculture
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Miltiadis Porfyrogenis, Minister of Labor
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Ilias Tsirimokos, Minister of National Economy
and
Nikolaos Askoutsis, Minister of Public Works
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In reality, however, there were no ministries, nor were there any actual ministers; they were just titles,
It was a government in exile, and the Germans had not yet left
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So when, on October 12, 1944, the Germans left, the fanatics of the Communist Party of Greece ordered:
DO NOT LET THE HELLENIC POLICE ENTER ATHENS
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It was an order from the Soviet Union, which was an order from the British.
and there were no Communist Parties that did NOT blindly obey the Soviets
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So, in Athens, the only Hellenic Police force that exists is the Athens Reserve Police Force
i.e.
some heads of households who occasionally helped the resistance, along with some young college students and high school students armed with rifles
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The Greek government is leaving Cairo in early October and heading to Taranto in southern Italy,
where they were used as a stopover to prepare for their return to Greece
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On October 13, when they learned that the Germans had left Athens,
The Canadian warship «Prince David» picks them up to take them to liberated Greece
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On October 15, the Greek government arrives in Poros.
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The next day, the battleship «Averof,» commanded by Theodoros Kountouriotis—son of the legendary admiral and former President of the Republic, Pavlos Kountouriotis
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On October 17, the Greek government sets sail for Faliro with the *Averof* and the rest of the Allied fleet
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The minesweepers are leading the way,
Next come the troop transports carrying soldiers,
and behind them, many trucks and oil tankers.
Destroyer ships are protecting them on all sides and ahead of them
while
Two British destroyers are following (alas)
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The soldiers who were accompanying them disembarked, but the officials did not.
They spent that night on board the ships for safety
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the next morning,
On this day—Wednesday, October 18, 1944—Georgios Papandreou took the flag of the «Averof»
and together with his government
and the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Greece,
Ronald Scobie
and, of course, the British ambassador to Greece,
Reginald Lepper,
(alas)
They get into open-top cars and drive toward the Acropolis rock
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there,
Papandreou raised the flag himself, while crowds of people cheered wildly
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They then proceeded to the cathedral, where a solemn thanksgiving service was held.
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At the same time, the square was overflowing with people
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After the thanksgiving service, Papandreou—accompanied, as always, by his ministers and the British officials—,
head to Syntagma Square and the balcony of the Palli Building (now Public)
Seated next to him in prominent seats are the EAM ministers, so that the people can see them and be reassured
and Papandreou launched into a speech—but what a speech… that was something else
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Since then,
After that speech, the people gave him the nickname "chatterbox"
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so that you'll understand that at some point, people started shouting «NATIONAL VENGEANCE»
and Papandreou assured that the traitors would be punished in the most despicable way
«The National Nemesis will be relentless»
and
The lies continued, Rodani
e.g.
When the crowd was chanting "DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRACY," Papandreou blurted out that unforgettable line
«We also believe in democracy»
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Instead of those,
A month later, about 700 traitors who had gone and locked themselves up in Averof Prison to escape the fury of the people,
almost officially,
He let them escape and get off to a flying start,
others to be reinstated to their former positions
(Police and Gendarmerie)
and others
to form armed gangs against the EAM
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The December events were rapidly approaching, and the only ones who hadn’t realized it were the leaders of the Communist Party of Greece, who, even when the clashes began,
They did not allow ELAS, led by its natural leader, Aris, to enter the capital
on the contrary,
They sent him with Sarafis on a mission to Ioannina to take out Zervas
